Growth Tactic #3: Customer Communication: Live Chat

January 10, 2017

Live chat is a time-tested tool for developing and retaining good customer relations. Learn how to make the most of it in our next tactic for your 100-Day Digital Growth Plan. This guide to building consumer loyalty is just one more in our series of tips and insights to keep you learning and growing well into 2017!

Overview – Customer Communication: Live Chat

Your customers have a lot to tell you–it’s your job to make sure you’re there to listen. Although it’s not a completely new concept, consumer feedback is still one of the most valuable tools in your marketing tool box. Think of your customer base as a giant survey group from which you can consistently pull data. They’re right there, waiting to offer opinions (good and bad), and the easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to share.

Along with phone calls and in-person visits (if you have a brick-and-mortar location), one way to open up the lines of communication between your business and your customers is to install live chat on your website. This small addition makes contact easy and encourages customers to reach out to you on a more regular basis. From small comments to big concerns, you can use this information to improve your product, service, marketing strategy, customer service techniques–you name it. Don’t assume you know what’s best for your customers…let them tell you!

How-to Use Live Chat for Consumer Loyalty

STEP ONE:A few things to consider before setting up your live chat–create any guidelines you’d like your customers to follow when live chatting with your team. Next, decide when your live chat will be accessible to website visitors. Once you know your available hours, appoint a team member to be in charge of not only responding but also managing the live chat. At this stage, it’s key to meet with your team to review goals, in order to collect the right kinds of helpful information and feedback.

STEP TWO:Do a little research to decide which live chat product best fits your needs. You’ll find a few suggestions to consider below in our Resources and Tools section.

STEP THREE: Launch your live chat and give it a trial run. Make sure to alert customers of your website’s helpful new feature via social media, your mailing list, and directly on your site via a new blog post.

Resources and Tools

We’re committed to providing a deep source of information and education for our community. Find more resources in our Learn page and watch this spot for the next 100-Day Digital Growth Plan Tactic, then call us for help maximizing your business growth opportunities!